by Edith Sosa

Akumal suffered effects from Hurricane Dean and, although they were not serious, they were enough to modify the coastal ecosystem. We have received several questions on the state of Akumal’s beaches and water quality after the hurricane, so the answer follows:

Subsequent to this type of climatic events, the coastal water contains high levels of suspended organic matter, caused by the winds and currents stirring up and mixing sediments from the marine bottom. Combined with this, the outflow of fresh water from the different rivers (in our case underground) visibly increases after rains caused by the hurricane, thereby increasing the bacteria load in the coastal zone. The increase of these polluting agents can be considered normal after a hurricane, due to all of the before mentioned; what we cannot say with exactness is how long these conditions will last. For example, after Hurricane Wilma, National Water Commission personnel made studies of the underground rivers located in Cancún's zone to determine their behavior after the hurricane. They concluded that the water levels in the aquifers increased considerably and they considered with base-to-previous studies that the effects of this event would be reflected until 2007.

In Akumal, we do not have continuous studies of the bays that can give us reference data. Given this necessity, this year in the water program we began a formal monitoring program of the bays (from Half Moon to South Akumal) and the water bodies of the zone of Akumal, with the collaboration of the Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Quintana Roo unit. We took two samples of water from each bay every month, to make bacteriological and physical chemistry analyses. The result that we hope for is to have a "picture" of the system at different seasons of the year, as well as then being able to detect unusual water disturbances. Up to now we have five months of data (and we are analyzing the data taken after the hurricane) but we need seven months of data in order to be able to have an complete diagnosis of the situation. As soon as we have it, we will present the results.

We need to emphasize that although this monitoring will give us tools necessary to be able to identify and stop possible contamination sources before they cause negative impacts to the aquatic system, the ideal is to take water samples in more points of Akumal and on an on-going basis. However, we cannot accomplish this goal currently because we have limited funding for the water program. This is why we ask that you all continue helping us with your contributions so that we can afford to perform the necessary tasks to help preserve this beautiful place we all enjoy.

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